IPOB Issues 14-Day Ultimatum To FG Over Nnamdi Kanu’s Appeal

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has given the Federal Government 14 days to list and hear Nnamdi Kanu’s appeal or face a boycott of the 2027 general election across the South-East and other parts of what it describes as Biafraland.

IPOB’s Head of Directorate of State (DOS), Mazi Chris Nwaogu, issued the ultimatum on Monday in a video broadcast.

The development comes amid renewed concerns by Kanu’s family over the delay in hearing the appeal against the conviction and life sentence handed to the detained IPOB leader.

The family had recently disclosed that Kanu wrote to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and the President of the Court of Appeal, seeking the immediate listing and hearing of his pending cases.

According to the family, the request followed what it described as prolonged delays in proceedings relating to Kanu’s continued detention, conviction and life sentence.

Nwaogu, however, accused the Federal Government of avoiding the court after moving swiftly to secure Kanu’s conviction.

“The Federal Government has not filed a Respondent’s brief, they have not listed the appeal, they have not come to court. A country that rushed to convict is now too frightened to defend the conviction,” he said.

The IPOB official warned that the group would consider mobilising for a boycott of the 2027 elections if the government failed to act within the stipulated period.

“We are giving them 14 days to list Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s appeal, if they refuse, we will consider boycotting the coming elections across Biafraland and beyond. A government that cannot face its Court of Appeal has no right to demand our votes,” Nwaogu said.

He also criticised the handling of Kanu’s case by the Nigerian judiciary, alleging that the proceedings from the trial court through the appellate stages had exposed serious concerns about the country’s judicial system.

“This judicial conspiracy through the trial court to the remittal and the present silence will shame the Chief Justice of Nigeria and all lawyers who still pretend this system is healthy. This case will either reset the Nigerian judiciary or expose it,” he said.

Nwaogu further challenged the Supreme Court’s decision which overturned Kanu’s discharge and acquittal by the Court of Appeal.

He particularly faulted the judgment delivered by Justice Lawal Garba, insisting that the apex court exceeded its constitutional powers by pronouncing on individual counts that had already been quashed by the Court of Appeal.

“Justice Lawal Garba, JSC, crossed a line that the Constitution does not allow. This is the heart of the matter. The Supreme Court is entitled to correct the Court of Appeal if the court was wrong about the inherent competence of the trial court to keep sitting.

“It could say the Court of Appeal was wrong to say extraordinary rendition stripped the Federal Government of jurisdiction. This is an appellate correction that is within bounds,” he said.

“Justice Lawal Garba, JSC, did more than that. He went down the individual counts the Court of Appeal had already quashed and declared that the Federal High Court had jurisdiction to try those particular counts.

“That is not a correction, that is an affirmative finding on subject matter jurisdiction on counts that had already died. Inherent jurisdiction is not subject matter justification.”

The IPOB DOS head argued that the Supreme Court’s decision to set aside the Court of Appeal’s order and remit the case for retrial could not revive charges that had already been extinguished.

“Correcting an error over whether the trial court still exists as a court does not give the Supreme Court the power to create, restore or confer jurisdiction over charges that had already been extinguished.

“The order of the Court of Appeal is set aside. If another trial is constitutionally possible, remit for retrial,” he said.

Nwaogu said a fresh proceeding, if constitutionally permissible, would have allowed the courts to determine the matter under existing laws.

“That would have enabled any new proceedings to fall or to stand under the Constitution and the living statutes – instead the remittal order quashed the counts, pronounced them triable, vested the Federal High Court with jurisdiction over them and sent them back for continuation,” he said.

He maintained that jurisdiction could not be created through a remittal order where the underlying charges had ceased to exist.

“A court can declare jurisdiction that already exist, it cannot manufacture jurisdiction that has ceased to exist. An order of remittal can send a living case to a court, it cannot by itself raise a dead count from the grave and make it triable. That is the boundary that was crossed,” Nwaogu said.

He also alleged that the authorities were deliberately keeping Kanu in detention because of concerns about his influence and political impact.

“They fear a free Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. They fear his influence, they fear a man who will not trade Biafra so they keep him in Sokoto and hide from their own court. In 14 days, list the appeal, hear it, defend it if you can,” he added.